If you are going to be doing very much woodworking at all you would be better off obtaining stand alone machinery. Multi-function machines can perform many woodworking tasks, but cannot perform any task up the the degree of accuracy and speed of a dedicated machine. And, you also have the time consuming hassle of converting from one function to another. The key piece of equipment in a woodworking shop is the table saw. And, the small table with the Shopsmith makes it very awkward to rip or crosscut large pieces of wood. For that reason alone, I would avoid a Shopsmith.

But, if you are limited in shop space and cash, then you can get by with a Shopsmith or similar machine. And, if you get a good enough deal on a used one you should be able to sell it and get your money back if and when you decide to buy better equipment at a later date.

Good luck with your decision.

John